LOCAL >Soldier killed in Hakkari as police defuses bombs

HAKKARİ - Doğan News Agency

A soldier is killed in clashes with suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) , while police searches for explosives in Istanbul’s Bahçelievler district. Meanwhile, PKK releases two kidnapped teachers

Anti-terror teams launch an investigation to find explosives following a tip In Istanbul’s Bahçelievler district yesterday as 80 kilograms of explosives were defused in Muş. DHA photo

One soldier was killed yesterday during clashes with suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the eastern province of Hakkari, while in the eastern province of Muş police discovered and defused 80 kilograms of explosives. Searches for explosives were also conducted in Istanbul.

Clashes occurred in Hakkari during the morning hours when security forces came into contact with PKK militants in a rural area.

One soldier was killed, initial reports said. Operations continue in the area.

Meanwhile, police discovered 80 kilograms of explosives and defused them in the eastern province of Muş yesterday. The explosives had a remote control system and cabled 400 meters away on the Muş–Diyarbakır motorway. Law enforcement forces started a dig in the area and experts have begun an investigation.

In Istanbul’s Bahçelievler district anti-terror teams launched an investigation to find explosives following a tip. The search was still underway as the Daily News went to print yesterday. Security forces also defused 50 kilograms of explosives in the eastern province of Tunceli which were planted by suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) on June 25.

Blast in Trabzon

An explosive planted in a trash container was detonated by a remote control device in a blast that left three soldiers injured in the Black Sea province of Trabzon’s Düzköy district yesterday.

Three soldiers were injured in the incident, with one in critical condition. The explosion occurred when soldiers of the gendarmerie station went to dispose of the trash at 7:30 a.m. June 26.

Trabzon Governor Dr. Recep Kızılcık said the explosive was fired by a remote controller.

“Three soldiers were injured due to a remotely controlled mine. Necessary examinations are being carried out. We wish to have no loss of lives,” he said.

“As a remotely controlled device was fired in the incident and such devices are generally used by terror organizations, we predict that a terror organization may be responsible for the explosion. But we don’t have any direct evidence,” said Kızılcık.

Teachers released

Two teachers who were kidnapped by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Bitlis on May 14 were released yesterday, the governor of Bitlis has announced.

Nurettin Yılmaz, the governor, said the health of the teachers, Mehmet Örk and Ömer Sürücü, was good and that they would be transferred from a Bitlis outpost to the city center by helicopter today.

Yılmaz also said a soldier who was kidnapped at the same time as the teachers was still captive and that the search-and-rescue work was continuing.

A nominee district governor, one police officer and two soldiers as well as Justice and Development Party (AKP) Diyarbakır province Kulp district head Veysel Çelik are also currently being held by the PKK, Raci Bilici, a lawyer and the head of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Diyarbakır Branch, Bilici told the Hürriyet Daily News on May 14.